Louth & District Labour Party backs Corbyn amidst membership surge

The Louth & District branch of the Labour Party has voted in support of backing Jeremy Corbyn to remain as party leader, amid a surge in local party membership.

A statement from the branch, released today (July 12), said: “Louth and District Branch Labour Party notes that Jeremy Corbyn was elected by a huge majority nine months ago to lead the Labour Party.

“The branch therefore calls on the Parliamentary Labour Party to honour the democratic process by which Jeremy Corbyn was elected and to honour the mandate he has to lead our party through to the next general election.

“In passing this resolution the branch affirms its support for Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party.”

The statement was supported by 80 per cent of members present at a recent branch meeting at The Trinity Centre on July 4.

Branch secretary Ros Jackson, who is also a Town and District councillor, told the Leader: “Jeremy Corbyn’s vision resonates with a lot of people because he never stops thinking about ordinary people and what people in this country are enduring. I saw him at party conference last year, when he went to something like 40 events in a day to give speeches. He has tremendous energy.

“But it’s not all about one man, it’s also about the hope he brings by talking about a completely different kind of politics, by talking about inequality and refusing to accept that austerity is an answer to anything. Because it isn’t.”

David Hall added: “I’m backing Corbyn because of his support for the little guy, and because he treats everyone with dignity and respect.”

Meanwhile, the Louth & Horncastle Constituency Labour Party (CLP) states that membership has seen an increase of over 300 per cent in the past 18 months, with big surges around the Labour leadership vote last summer and since the EU referendum almost three weeks ago.

This figure does not include new associate and affiliated members, of which there have also been hundreds in the past 18 months.